The Web Project Guide: Model Your Content | Write for People and Machines
October 10, 2019
Writing about writing (and also writing about the structure of content) in this month’s chapter launches.
Category: Words
Kill Your Processes
April 12, 2015
We spend a lot of time in the beginning learning these letters — often without any larger picture. We know that these shapes help us spell, but we don’t dive into what it means to spell. We just do it. We know what we can do, but we don’t know what we should do.
Barker on Hyperlinks and Emphasis
November 12, 2014
Deane Barker at Gadgetopia puts together an interesting post about what we imply when we link something. More than just the words themselves, we are subtly drawing attention to certain emphasis, even if unintended.
Clarifying our Vocabulary: The Words We Use
January 31, 2013
The chasm of understanding between consultant and client – or between content person and marketing team, or whatever your situation might be – is a dangerous hurdle. Our job as content experts is to understand that, despite the promises and assurances we make in terms of a client’s content, our own explanations and processes are tangled, weirdly worded and sometimes impossible to decipher.
Some quick thoughts on writing for the web
May 25, 2012
Know that we don’t provide just copy. We provide a process and a guide. What we write now will, subconsciously, serve as a template for future site copy. And while we know not every client will be faithful to that template, we need to provide them with the right tools in the beginning.
Login is not a verb
April 11, 2011
Without fail, there is one argument I find myself involved in with every site I test: LOGIN is not a verb. You do not “login” to a website. That’s just not a word. You “LOG IN.” “Login” is a thing. That’s the login, which is where you log in. Next time, I refuse to have […]
Your mission? Keep it to yourself.
October 6, 2010
“…And we’d like to put our mission statement on the home page.” No. No, you wouldn’t. Your mission statement is for you. It’s for your board of directors, your senior vice presidents, your employees, your partners, your backers. It’s for your company, and your company alone. Your mission is not for your customers. Your mission […]
Autocomplete and a loss of confidence
July 14, 2010
While dorking out and reading Morville & Callender’s Search Patterns, I came across this sentence: “A few years ago, results were the only reply. Our goal was a subsecond response. Now, with autocomplete and autosuggest, the results may precede the query.” From Search Patterns – Peter Morville & Jeffery Callender This is space-aged, mind reading […]
Atelier: a method of craft
February 22, 2010
ate·lier Pronunciation: \ˌa-təl-ˈyā\ Function: noun Etymology: French, from Middle French astelier woodpile, from astele splinter, from Late Latin astella, diminutive of Latin astula Date: 1699 1 : an artist’s or designer’s studio or workroom 2 : workshop Great word, though this only hints at the way it was used by Jeffrey MacIntire from Predicate, LLC […]